Dismal Angel Episode 11: Love and Marriage
by AngelExposed
Summary: Whilst pining for Remy, Rogue is kidnapped by Assassins - reunited with her love finally. But Remy needs to make a tough decision - Bella Donna or Rogue? One has a reward, the other a price, which will he chose? FINISHED
1. Chapter 1: Waiting

Chapter 1:  Waiting

             Rogue stared out of her bedroom window, snow was falling heavily on the Xavier estate, so thick she could barely even see the perimeter fences around the grounds through its dense white curtain.  She felt as if she'd done nothing since the beginning of November except look from windows, awaiting the return of Remy LeBeau – the man she was head over heels for.

             He'd promised he'd return within three months, it was now only five days until Christmas, and no word had come from him – it had been so long since she'd seen his face, or heard his voice.  Since his last departure, Remy had not even called by telephone, or written a letter.  She was beginning to worry.  He'd gone to break off an engagement of a girl he'd been betrothed to since he was fifteen – the daughter of a notorious guild of dangerous professional Assassins.  Five years later, and Remy had been still doing everything he could to avoid marrying his fiancée, Bella Donna – whom he swore he didn't love.

             Rogue had been pining since the first of November when he'd left again, on his twentieth birthday, he'd left while she'd been asleep, leaving only a playing card – the ace of hearts – on a coffee table as a reminder of himself to her.  

             "Doesn't make sense, Kitty," Rogue said to her roommate, who was sitting on the floor skimming through a very large pile of CDs, mostly pop CDs. 

             Kitty dropped a CD into a smaller pile on the floor near a bag, she was preparing to take off for Christmas – or rather for the remainder of Chanukah.  "What doesn't make sense?" Kitty asked distractedly, sorting which CDs she'd like to take with her over the holidays.

             "This whole thing," Rogue threw herself on her bed, she was in pyjamas, as it was a late Thursday night, "It's nearly Christmas, Remy isn't back yet…" 

             "Give it a rest, Rogue, it isn't even three months yet, you said three months, he came back for like one day after the first three weeks or something."

             "But it was early October when we made that agreement, I thought it'd be obvious he should be back before Christmas," Rogue stated, she sighed, "I just don't understand, no phone calls, no letters…nothing…" she stated, "stupid jerk," Rogue pressed her face into her pillow and muffled a scream of frustration.

             Kitty shrugged, "maybe he's been busy," she shrugged.

             "Maybe he's dead," Rogue sighed.  This was certainly a possibility, Remy had told her that his future wife's family were not thrilled at his trying to get out of the marriage and would probably kill him before they let him dump one of their own.  

             "Don't say stuff like that, it's like, bad luck," Kitty reminded.  "it's like, tempting fate."

             "But it's really possible, Kitty…Remy has people out to kill him, he told me so…he when he came back that one night he had bruises and cuts…"

             "You're paranoid," Kitty rolled her large blue eyes, "but hey," Kitty began, "You could always, like, I dunno, take off to New Orleans to check up on him," she stated.

             "Professor wouldn't allow me to go it alone," Rogue sighed wearily, "and I don't feel much like taking Logan or the Professor with me…it'd be so embarrassing…" she winced at the thought.

             "So take Scott…" Kitty raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure he isn't doin' anything over the holidays."

             "Actually he is, he's goin' to spend some time with Alex.  Look, I'll figure it out on my own somehow," Rogue rubbed her forehead, "Even if I did go up to the Big Easy, I mean, hell, how am I meant to find him?  New Orleans' is a massive place, a lot bigger than Bayville, you know," Rogue reminded, "I don't have an address for him, all I know is his last name – and like, how many people in New Orleans do you expect have the name 'LeBeau'?" Rogue asked.

             "I don't know," Kitty put two CDs in a pile next to her.

             "This is probably just what he planned," Rogue fumed, "not being able to be traced…I mean where do you find a Cajun thief fluent in French and fond of women down in the Big Easy?" Rogue demanded.

             "French Quarter," Kitty shrugged, "did Gambit mention that was where he lived?  The French Quarter?" she turned and looked at Rogue.

             Rogue sighed, "tomorrow I'll talk to the professor about it, see what he thinks – maybe he can track him using cerebro or something," Rogue climbed under the covers and threw her head down on the pillows of her bed.

             Kitty put all her CDs away neatly and climbed into her own bed, "what about Kurt?"                     "What do you mean?"

             "Take Kurt to New Orleans," Kitty suggested.

             "He's going to Germany tomorrow," Rogue rolled her eyes.

             "Oh yeah," Kitty screwed up her face, "Oh…well, I know you'll figure out something, you always do, just try not to break the rules this time," she picked up a book from the cabinet beside her bed and settled down to read.

             "Do you think I should go through his things?" Rogue asked quietly.

             "Huh?" Kitty glanced up from her book.

             Rogue climbed out of the bed, "in his room – he only took some clothes with him, I mean everything should be in tact, maybe there are some clues to where he lives or something, c'mon," Rogue got up and pulled her gloves on.

             "Why do I have to come?"

             "Because his room door is locked," Rogue stuck her tongue out, "you need to phase us through."

             "Great," Kitty kicked her covers off and climbed out of the bed, tossing the book aside carelessly, "why do I always get involved in these stupid little ideas of yours?" she demanded.

"Because you're my friend," Rogue grinned.

"I'm so sick of getting into trouble," Kitty made a face at Rogue.

             "Check the hall…" Rogue commanded.

             Kitty frowned, "Yes, mistress, whatever you say," she rolled her large blue eyes, she phased her head through the wall and glanced down the hallway, "coast is clear," she commented as she returned all the way back into the room.

             The girls silently crept out of the room into the hallway, Kitty grabbed a hold of Rogue's elbow, concentrating her power to her feet, she began to phase down into the floor, which would lead them both to the second floor of the mansion – where the boys dorms were.  They landed with a thud falling through the ceiling onto the hard floor of the boys dorm hallway.

             "Woops," Kitty gritted her teeth, "Hope Logan didn't hear that," she whispered, "which room is Gambit's?"

             "This one," Rogue gestured to a locked door, she tested the doorknob again just to be sure, but it made a sharp clicking nose, but did not open, "locked."

             Kitty leaned into the room, phasing half way through the door, making sure the coast was clear.

             Rogue gasped, hearing footsteps coming from around a corner, "Kitty, quick!" she whispered.

             The girls phased through Remy LeBeau's room.

             "What is it?" Kitty asked loudly.

             "Ssh!" Rogue pressed her gloved hand to Kitty's mouth to silence her, they listened, footsteps passed by the door, they looked to the crack between the door and the floor, seeing the shadows of feet passing by.  Soon, the footsteps echoed away.  Rogue took her hand from Kitty's mouth.  "That was close."

             "Who'd you think it was?"

             "Well it wasn't the professor, that's for sure," Rogue remarked coldly, she looked around, in the darkness she could barely see anything.  She was beginning to wonder if it was wise to turn on the lights, as it might only draw attention to their presence in his room.

             Kitty glanced around, "Hey, there's some candles…" she pointed out to the dresser.

             "Got a light?" Rogue asked.

             "No, I don't smoke…"

             "He does," Rogue realised, "must be some lighters or matches around somewhere," she opened a drawer on the dresser and fumbled around, finding a box of matches, "here we go," she took a match out and struck it, she touched the tip to the wicks of the five candles on the dresser, and the room began to take on a dim almost warm light.  The candles flickered, Rogue realised the window was open slightly and she shivered slightly, the cold had crept in.  She rushed to the window and shut it firmly, locking it into place.

             "That's better," Kitty commented, "so what are we looking for?"

             "Addresses, anything to suggest where he lives in New Orleans," Rogue walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open.  There wasn't much inside the closet, an old brown trenchcoat, worn and threadbare, patched at the elbow and stitched at the sleeve, she'd seen him wear it a couple of times before he'd joined the X-Men.  

             Rogue yearned for him to be there and then, as she moved a few shirts along the railing on their hangers, and she caught the scent of his cologne, she breathed it in, "It smells like him in here," she murmured to herself wistfully.

             Kitty was raking through drawers carefully, "never mind that, just look for whatever and stop mooning.  We need to get out of here ASAP – before we get caught," Kitty stated.

             Rogue knelt down on the floor, there were a few shoeboxes in the corner of the closet, she pulled one out, one was exceptionally lighter than a pair of shoes generally were.  "Hmmm…what's this…" she wondered.

             Kitty stopped and looked over, "what is it?"

             Rogue took the lid carefully off the box, inside whatever the contents were, were wrapped in thin tissue paper, she carefully unfolded the large sheets of tissue, "photos…" she trailed off, she began to flick through them, trying to keep them in order.

             "Who…is…that," Kitty knelt beside Rogue, she pointed to a girl in a picture.

             The girl was probably close to eighteen or nineteen, with long golden hair, worn in a braid that was hanging over her shoulder.  She had icy blue eyes, a perfect tan, and rose petal lips.  Rogue had a feeling she'd met her before.  "This must be…Bella Donna, his fiancée," she flicked through photos, "here they are together, look…"

             Kitty glanced at the photo, Remy LeBeau, looking rather handsome if not a little younger, with his arms around the blonde in a loving embrace, they looked as if they were laughing about something.  Their arms were bare and touching, cheek against cheek, he stood behind her, arms wrapped around her, gripping her hands.

             Rogue chewed her lip, looking at the photo, "I…I…"

             "Rogue, this is an old photo, you can tell," Kitty cut in, "I mean look at him, he doesn't have as much stubble, and the goatee is barely there," she pointed out.

             Rogue closed her eyes tightly trying to get the image out of her head, "if he doesn't love her – and never did – why does he look so fucking happy with her?!" Rogue's voice boomed.

             Kitty's eyes widened, "ssh!  You'll get us caught!" she reminded.

             Rogue felt tears burning at her eyes, "He's not going to come back, is he?"

             "Sure he will!" Kitty stated, not even knowing the answer herself, "It's easy to fake being happy in a photograph, Rogue," Kitty stated, "everyone knows that," she stated.

             Rogue sighed, "he's never looked that happy when he's around me, Kitty…"

             "That like, proves nothing," Kitty soothed, she patted Rogue's back gingerly, "you never look happy when you're around him, doesn't mean you aren't," Kitty reminded.

             Rogue realised Kitty had a point.  Sighing, she put the photos away.

             After a thorough and careful search of the room, they found nothing that would lead them any closer to finding Remy LeBeau.  Rogue sighed, "Kitty, what if he really doesn't want to be found?  What then?"

             "He's head over heels for you, Rogue, he WANTS you to be with him."

             "I hope you're right…" Rogue sighed.

             "We haven't found anything, we need to get out of here," Kitty pointed out, "before we're caught…"

             "I…I feel like being alone for a while, just go on without me," Rogue looked at Kitty hopefully.

             "Are you sure?" Kitty felt concerned.

             "I'm sure," Rogue nodded and feigned a smile.

             "Alright," Kitty nodded, and left the room silently by walking through the door.

             Rogue sighed to herself and sat on the bed, looking at the dresser with the candles all aglow, she felt so sick with concern for Remy – and sick with the desire just to be near him again.  It was driving her crazy.  She lay down on his bed, closing her eyes, imagining his cheek near hers, his eyes burning into hers.  And she drifted into sleep, to dream of him.


	2. Chapter 2: Kidnap

Chapter 2: Kidnap

             Rogue stirred, feeling a breeze against her cheek, and she rolled over, shivering, the room felt so cold.  She hugged herself, and blinked her eyes open wearily, everything slowly starting to come into focus.  She glanced over to the window, and she leapt from the bed realising it was wide open.  It wouldn't have startled her so much – except she remembered clearly having closed and locked it securely – when having first entered the room.  

             "What the—" she jumped up and rushed to the window, she leaned out and glanced outside quickly.  Snow was drifting across the sky in huge, light flakes.  The sky was black, but the lights of the mansion's perimeter illuminated the snowy grounds.  She shivered and closed the window quietly, and locked it, glanced around the room.  The candles had long since burned down and gone out.  

             She sighed, thinking she was paranoid, perhaps she'd been too stuffy, and whilst being half asleep had opened the window?  

"I'm losin' my mind," she rubbed her head, she hugged herself against the chill of the room, her eyes glancing across the sky with its white flakes soaring almost weightlessly.  

             _Where are you, Remy_?  She thought, still standing there shivering in his room, even though she knew he was nowhere near her, his presence seemed to linger, the scent of him remained in the room with her, and she found herself feeling almost as if he were a ghost – haunting her.  

             The photo of Remy LeBeau and his fiancée stuck in her mind, how happy Remy had looked, how content, and colourful and alive he seemed.  It made her wonder if he had not returned from New Orleans because he really was happy there.  She began to feel the concern that his stories of family feuds might be no more than excuses – lies to deter her from the truth, that he was never coming back.

             Suddenly something from behind caught her off guard – something was on her face, a cloth, and a strange smell.  She struggled, someone was holding her from behind, she lashed out with an elbow and she heard a gasp of pain, she dropped to the floor and tried to escape, but she felt herself beginning to feel rather limp.  Whatever had been on the cloth, was already beginning to take its effects…everything seemed to grow fuzzy, and dark around her.  She tried to make it towards the door, dragging herself along the floor sluggishly.  Her eyes were growing heavier and heavier, and before they finally fell closed, she saw a dark silhouette and heard a deep voice that almost seemed to echo.  

             "Take her."

             When Rogue came to, she was quite aware that everything was still rather dark, and at first, she couldn't comprehend what was going on, then soon realised she was blindfolded.  She was lying on her side, her arms roped behind her back.  She felt so weak she could barely move, she let out a groan, her head was throbbing with very persistent dull pains.

             Two voices were further away, they were both speaking in very fluent French, in hushed voices as if they were determined to not be heard.

             "Who's there?" Rogue demanded loudly.

             "Ah, the young chere is awake now," one of the voices, that same voice she'd heard earlier, sounded rather amused.

             "Who're you?!" Rogue demanded, not being able to see anything, the weakness seemed to overwhelm her and she struggled to break her hands free from the rope and it was doing nothing but burn into her wrists.

             _My powers!  What's going on_?! She thought desperately.   Even trying to use her mutant powers to defy gravity and raise in the air seemed impossible, she would not take off.  She struggled more violently with her bonds.  

             "I be heaven or hell depending on your answers to our questions, chere."

             Rogue squeezed her eyes shut tightly, the pain in her head increasing, "what do you want?!" she demanded.

             "We want LeBeau.  You tell us where he's hidin', and we let you go, simple as that."

             Rogue clenched her teeth, "How the hell am I supposed to know where he is?!" she demanded.

             "Don't play stupid with us, chere, where is LeBeau!?!"

             Rogue felt something cold and sharp press against her throat, she was pretty sure it might be the tip of a dagger.  "I don't know where the hell he is!  He left months ago!  He hasn't been in touch!" she squealed.

             "You be lyin' to us."

             "No!" Rogue gasped, "it's the truth!" the dagger was removed.  Rogue listened all around her, she suddenly became very aware that they were in the blackbird.  She knew the sound of the engines of the jet as it made its way through the air.  

             "We'll see about that, chere," the voice said.

             There was a moment of silence, then the two voices drifted off to another part of the blackbird, once again in French.  The voices were so fast and fluent she found it hard to pick out any well known words she might have learned at school, and she suddenly found herself wishing she'd paid more attention in class – or at least wishing she had asked Remy to teach her French.  

             The voice of the man who had not spoken directly to her was edgy as he spoke, and it raised and lowered at points, and words came out in gasps or hisses.  She tried to concentrate, telling herself if she listened hard enough she'd be able to recognise something.

             But only one word stood out from the others – not even a word, a name…

             "Il n'importe pas, nous devrions seulement la prend à Bella Donna," the voice of the calmer man – who was much softer spoken than his companion – came very clearly.

Bella Donna.  The name of Remy's fiancée.  Rogue felt the sudden want to struggle more than before, and tried desperately harder.  "What did you do to my powers?!" Rogue shrieked angrily, still struggling.  No matter how hard she tried, the strength she'd possessed since absorbing the powers of Miss Marvel now seemed nonexistent.  She felt as if she should have been able to snap those ropes like a line of weak thread – yet, was helpless against them.

             "We got…ways…of dealing with those little problems, don't you worry 'bout that…" the man stated.

             "Why you got me blindfolded!?!" Rogue demanded.

             "Takin' precautions…" the tone of his voice almost seemed to suggest how stupid it was that she'd even asked.

             "Where you takin' me?" Rogue tried to pull herself up.

             "Lie there," she felt a hand pushing her back down, it was the other person's voice this time.  His voice was gruffer, and more of a French accent seemed to linger upon it.  "Move, and I'll cut you…" she felt the dagger against her neck again.

             "Get the needle," the other man ordered of the first man, Rogue could hear shuffling around beside her, and heard something that sounded like the click of plastic.  She then realised that one of the men was rolling up the sleeve of her pyjama top.

             "Needle?!" she demanded, "what needle?!"

             The cold prick of a needle in her arm made her gasp in surprise, even though she'd already known what was coming.  She sucked in a breath through her teeth as she felt the needle being removed, everything began to feel rather strange, and light around her, and she found herself drifting into a sleep – without having the option to do so.


	3. Chapter 3: Bella Donna

Chapter 3: Bella Donna

             Rogue felt a slap against her face, and winced, consciousness beginning to slowly drift back to her in small spurts, exhaustion still settling over her from whatever she'd been injected with what had seemed like only minutes ago in reality must have been hours.

             "Wake up," another slap came, this time harder, and it hurt.  It had been a while she'd felt such pain – the smarting sensations travelling over her cheek.  

             She opened her eyes, finding the blindfold no longer there, she glanced around, eyes unfocused, she was in a small stone room, no windows, and one door near the corner.  She leaned up, her arms were untied, she glanced under her hands, she was on some kind of pile up of several old tattered mattresses.  Something about the way the room was set reminded Rogue of a basement, the walls stained with dampness, and the air stale.

             The person who had slapped her came into focus after a moment, an attractive girl, of maybe twenty was standing before her.  She had blonde hair that fell down to her waist in careless waves, that shimmered like gold in the dim overhead light.  Even in the poor lighting her eyes were so unbelievably blue they rivalled the ocean.  She was clad in a very tight red tanktop, and jeans that hugged her shapely hips.  Rogue recognised the girl at once.  

             Bella Donna.

             "So this is what's been keepin' Remy so…" Bella Donna threw Rogue a very strange look, "…amused…while he's been away from home," Bella Donna's accent – if possible – was even stronger than Remy LeBeau's, her voice was high pitched, but sweet.

             Rogue raised an eyebrow, "so this is what Remy's been tryin' to get away from for the last several months," she rubbed her throbbing head, "can't say I blame him," she added in a hostile tone.  "And before you ask, I don't know where he is."  
             "Oh, I know you ain't seen him," Bella Donna gave a devilish laugh.

             Rogue yanked herself up and lunged at Bella Donna, her head was still spinning and she wasn't nearly as swift under the grogginess of what they'd given her.   Bella Donna dodged her and as Rogue missed the collision, thrust her elbow into the younger girls back.  Rogue winced and spun around, raising an arm with her fist ready to throw a punch, Bella Donna caught Rogue's wrist and twisted her arm behind her back as if she'd predicted Rogue's attempted assault.  Rogue fell to her knees.

             "Don't fuck with an Assassin, chere," Bella Donna twisted her arm harder.

             Rogue gasped and fell to her knees, still held in the grip, even her free arm wouldn't save her now, pain was seering through her arm right up to the shoulder, she felt tears of pain evade her eyes, and tried to force them back.   She hadn't experienced such pain for a very long time, she'd forgotten what it was really like.  With Miss Marvel's powers having given her a reasonable invulnerability and amazing strength and stamina, pain of the physical kind during battle seemed non-existent.

             "You gonna behave?" demanded Bella Donna, Rogue felt something cold press against her throat, she realised Bella Donna had a knife, she gulped, and felt the cold steel against the bump in her throat as she did.  Bella Donna tossed Rogue over to the pile of mattresses, "you won't be tryin' that again."

             Rogue looked at Bella Donna, surprised, the girl had the same reflexes Remy LeBeau did, she was faster than Rogue, and Rogue was reminded of the fight she'd had with Remy out in the mansion grounds the night she'd gotten Miss Marvel's powers. 

             "Not so tough without your powers, are you?" Bella Donna smirked, "you're nothing more than a silly little girl."

             Behind Bella Donna, the splintered and green-paint-chipped wooden door swung open, "we found 'im, Belle," said a voice, the one Rogue recognised from earlier in her abduction.   "He infiltrated the plantation.  He was no match for twenty of us…" 

             "Did you give him the—" Bella Donna was interrupted.

             "Yes…he won't give you any trouble…"

             Remy LeBeau was thrown inside, looking quite beaten up, his hair slightly tainted with blood from a head wound, one eye slightly blackened and his lip bleeding, he limped a little, holding one arm near his stomach in pain.

             "Remy!" Rogue leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around him.

             Remy accepted her embrace gratefully, and pulled her close with the one uninjured arm he had left, "chere…I'm sorry," he murmured.

             "That'll be enough of that," A masked man came in, pulling Remy away from Rogue, prying them apart, he threw LeBeau against the wall, and kicked him, Remy slid down the wall groaning, still cradling his injured arm.

             "Remy!" Rogue screamed and tried to go to him, Bella Donna soon stopped that, she kicked Rogue hard in the stomach as Rogue soared towards Remy, and Rogue landed with a thud on the floor.

             "Well well well," Bella Donna looked down at both of them, "where one is, the other sure to be – and true enough, here he is," Bella Donna gestured to Remy.  "We knew once we had you, he'd come to your rescue.  But Remy is no Knight in shining armor, are you, mon chere," Bella Donna walked over to Remy and put her hand under his chin, tilting his head up so she could look at him.

             Remy looked up at her, "Belle, don't do this, it over already," he hissed.

             "It's not over, it's not over until you give me what you promised me!" she slapped him hard on the face, and his head swung to the side, a red smarting patch on his cheek where her hand had been.

             Rogue looked at Remy, he looked so pitiful, she'd always thought he could handle himself, why wasn't he doing anything right now?  Even injured he surely could be just as formidable as Bella Donna – Rogue had seen him in action.

             Remy glanced back at Rogue, his eyes pleading with her in some way.

             Rogue wished her powers would erupt at right at that moment, never before had she wished she were a mutant more than then – for without her powers, she had no reasonable defence. 

             "You promised you'd love me forever – as long as I gave you what you wanted," Bella Donna slapped him again, harder, his head swung the other way, his eyes closed tightly.

             "The lousiest lay in the Big Easy," Remy remarked smartly, his face received a third slap, and Bella Donna kicked him in the groin, he rolled onto the floor, gasping in pain.

             "Search him," Bella Donna gestured to Remy.

             The masked man – who's eyes peered out behind cut out eyeholes – began to search Remy, yanking out a pile of cards from one pocket, a handful of throwing spikes from the other, and the bo-staff that was retractable.  "That's everything," he said.

             "Everything?" Bella Donna seemed amused, "how odd, I thought a thief might have come more prepared than this…" she headed towards the door, "come, we have much to do," she said to the masked man.  The two left the room, Rogue heard three sharp snapping sounds, the door had been locked behind Bella Donna and the masked man.  

             "Remy…" Rogue rushed to him, "are you alright?"

             "I've been better," Remy sighed, he pulled himself up, wiping the blood from his lip, "most certainly been worse," he added, he looked at her, "are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

             "Yeah…"

             He wandered to the door and gave it a good looking at, as if he were studying it closely. "I was scared they would have killed you…I knew they were gonna come get you…only way they could catch me, I tried to get there before they did, it was too late."

             "Did they inject you with something?" Rogue asked.

             "Yeah, blue liquid," Remy remarked, "no doubt the same kinda drug that Pinocchio guy was selling to control mutant powers – but this stuff not only drains your powers out of you, but leaves you weak as well," he added, he looked at her, "they gave you the same no doubt, I can see you don't have the strength you used to, just by the way Belle threw you to the wall…" he sighed, "Rogue, don't fight her, believe me she's capable of A LOT of damage.  I've seen the guys who came out of a fight with her…" he clenched his teeth.

             Rogue nodded, and hugged herself insecurely.  She really wanted Remy to come over and hold her, right now he stood studying the doors, there were three lock holes, missing keys of course from the other side.  "What are you doin'?" she asked of him.

             "Just taking notes," he shrugged, he walked over to her, "we're gonna get out of here somehow," he added.  "I don't know if these locks can be picked, I never did them before," he said, "these are very new…" he gestured to the locks.

             Rogue sighed and sat on the mattresses, "we're doomed."

             "We're not," Remy limped over, still cradling his hurt arm.

             Rogue looked at him, "where have you been all this time?"

             "Avoidin' the Assassins…I tried to break it off with her three times, isn't working quite the way I planned…" he added, he sat beside her, rubbing his arm, wincing in pain.  "I think that Marcus broke my arm."

             "Marcus?" Rogue queried.

             "The one in the mask," he stated, "thing is…I need this arm for the lock pickin', I'm right handed…" he gestured to the right arm which was injured.

             "Damn it," Rogue sighed.

             Remy leaned back against the wall the mattresses were against, he rested his head back against it, closing his eyes, "I'll think of something…" he stated.

             "You'd better," Rogue sighed, she moved to his left side and rested her cheek against his left shoulder.  "Why didn't she let me go since she has you here now…"

             "Because you're her fallproof plan," Remy remarked, "she gonna use you to get to me," he sighed, "so we gotta both get out of here before she can get any chance to go through with what she plannin'," he added.  Rogue realised how much thicker his accent had gotten since he had come back to New Orleans.  With her bare hand, she reached out and took his left hand, the roughness of his hands was surprising, she'd not expected his hands to feel so callused and dry, she looked down at their hands as their fingers twined.  

             Remy opened his eyes and looked at her, her eyes were focused on their hands, he had almost forgotten this would be the first time for her – since her powers had manifested – that she'd be able to touch him without hurting him.  "Must be strange, huh?" he murmured, "Bein' able to touch me without my thoughts assailing your own," he turned slightly towards her.

             Rogue glanced up at him, "I never expected your hands to be so…"

             "Rough?" he asked.

             "Yeah," Rogue looked back down his hand, she turned it around in both of hers, studying his palm, "where did you get all these calluses from?" she asked.

             "Working out, and climbin' ropes," he shrugged, "lost my gloves," he added regretfully.

             Rogue looked up at him, "I'll get you a new pair for Christmas," she murmured.

             He smiled a little, amused at the comment, and reached out with his left hand and moved her hair from her face, "you be the best gift I could ever have for Christmas," he murmured, "c'mere…"  he pulled her close to him and held her with his left arm, the right still resting injured upon his belly.  She thought he'd kiss her, but he didn't, and it hurt her feelings that he could kiss her without worry, yet didn't. 

             She closed her eyes, "Remy, we need to come up with a plan."

             "Lemme rest a little…" he murmured, a yawn escaping his lips, "then we escape." 


	4. Chapter 4: The Plan

Chapter 4:  The Plan 

             "Wake up!"

             The loud voice of Bella Donna disturbed Rogue and Remy from peaceful slumbers, they leaned up, breaking away from each other whilst the cold glare of Bella Donna gazed over them hatefully.

             Remy rubbed his eyes, "You never did let me get any sleep," he said, "things certainly never change, do they," he muttered.

             "Shut up."

             "So you got us here, you obviously wanna say something to us, standing there with that face that tells me you got somethin' on your mind," Remy winced as he tried to move his injured arm, "So tell me, Belle, what's your brilliant scheme this time."

             "Oh, I don't think you need worry your pretty little head like that, mon chere," she stood with her hip to the side, arms folded, her chest swelling under a very tight black top.  Despite Remy hated the woman, Rogue could see the look of lust in his eyes as he looked over Bella Donna.  Rogue felt like kicking him right then.  

             Rogue looked away stubbornly, Remy could only gaze.

             "So, what, gonna drag me all the way to another wedding?" Remy asked, "didn't you get the message the last time?"

             "But the last time, I didn't have a back up plan," Bella Donna's eyes swayed over to Rogue.  "This time, Remy, I'm going to give you an ultimatum.  You see, if you don't go through with this wedding…and you object when the priest tells you to say 'I do'?  You're gonna watch me gut your little whore up like a fish…"

             Rogue spun around to look at Remy, his eyes as wide as her own.

             "I got no qualms about killin' her," Bella Donna reached to her right thigh, a small scabbard was strapped there, and she yanked a very intricate dagger from it, she twirled it in her hand, the tip pressed against her index finger.  "I'd take no greater pleasure in cutting her…takin' her apart, piece by piece."

             "Assassins don't kill for pleasure, Belle, they kill for profit, it's the way of the Assassin," Remy stated, as if he'd been well versed in the rules.

             "What would you know, you're nothin' but a Thief," Bella Donna remarked.

             "I know the bylaws, Belle."  Remy stood up slowly, his words fell from his mouth in very fluent French.  "Aucun voleur peut voler pour la richesse personnelle mais seulement se soutenir, Aucun Assassin cherche à tuer un ennemi à moins qu'a payé pour ainsi faire."

             Rogue gritted her teeth, she was beginning to desire asking Remy for lessons in French once they got out of this mess, "and the translation of that?"

"No thief may steal for personal wealth but only to sustain himself, No Assassin seek to kill a foe unless paid to do so," Bella Donna spat, she clenched the dagger in her fist, "but you broke those rules a LONG time ago, Remy LeBeau."

"After I left the Guild.  I might be a thief, but I'm not under the laws of the guild anymore.  I'm an X-Man now," Remy squinted his black and red eyes at her coldly.

"Wrong.  You WERE an X-Man.  You're never goin' back there…and tomorrow, you're gonna be my husband, like it or no…if you don't…your little slut is gonna die by my hand…" Bella Donna growled.

"What if I sacrifice myself…" Rogue stood slowly, she glanced at Remy, who looked as doubly surprised as Bella Donna did.

"Do you think he's worth dyin' for, Chere?" Bella Donna seemed amused, "so he can live free and have any woman he wants…tellin' them all he loves them and them dumpin' them after he gets his lay?" 

Rogue looked at Remy, "yes," she answered.

Remy took his eyes away from Bella Donna, and turned towards Rogue, "Chere, without you, my life wouldn't be worth livin' anyway…" he drew his breath sharply.  "At least if I marry Bella Donna, you get to live and I have the knowledge that you'd be safe…" he explained.  
             "Remy, don't…" Rogue grabbed a hold of his uninjured arm, and shook him a little, "think about it…bein' married to that—" she pointed to Bella Donna, "would be a living hell."

"My life is a living hell…havin' to avoid them.  I've been avoidin' them for years.  And even if you were a sacrifice, they'd still get me in the end…while there is honour between Thieves, the Assassins know nothing about Honour," he sighed.  "No, I know what I have to do…" he walked over to Bella Donna.  

"No, Remy, please!" Rogue pleaded, she felt her heart pound in her chest, she kept trying to tell herself that this wasn't happening, that it was some kind of bad nightmare…yet, she pinched herself and Remy and Bella Donna were before her, looking deep in each others eyes.

Remy tilted his head a little to the side looking at Bella Donna, "Belle…I'll say I do at the alter…but let her go…" 

Bella Donna smiled, and she put the dagger in its sheath against her thigh, took Remy's face in both of her hands and kissed him hard, and deep, Rogue felt waves of disgust and hatred sweep over her, and she clenched her fists.  Remy had his left hand buried in Bella Donna's beautiful long golden hair, and his mouth was pressed fiercely against hers as if he'd hungered for the kiss for an eternity.  

During the kiss, Bella Donna's stunning blue eyes opened, and glanced at Rogue from their corners, the expression smug.

"Remy, no…"

Remy broke his lips from Bella Donna, "I'm with her now, Rogue," he stated, his voice plain, and seemingly unemotional.

Rogue felt panic emerging, he rarely – if at all – called her by the name of Rogue.  It had always been Chere, or Marie if he was feeling extra sweet towards her.  But Rogue, it sounded so serious.

Rogue drew her breath, "Remy, I love you…" she felt tears stinging her eyes.

"I owe my love only to one woman…" he slipped his arm around Bella Donna.  "The woman I promised to love forever the night I gave myself to her and she to me…" he glanced back to Bella Donna, "So…Belle, we gettin' married tomorrow…do we really have to wait for the wedding night?" he raised an eyebrow.

Bella Donna smirked, "Not if I get my way…"

Bella Donna walked backwards, pulling Remy towards the door by the collar of his leather coat.  Rogue's mouth dropped, was he really going to do this?  She felt all of a sudden as if she'd been fooled and as if Remy had always intended to go back to Bella Donna eventually.  "Remy…" she whispered.

"Wait…what about her…" Remy gestured towards Rogue, "You said you'd let her go," he reminded, his hand resting on Bella Donna's hip.

"Not until after the wedding, mon Chere," Bella Donna planted a kiss upon Remy's jaw, "c'mon…it's been a while," she smirked, "been so frustrated…"

"Remy!" Rogue yelled.

Remy and Bella Donna left, and the door slammed behind them, and the locks were clicked.  Rogue rushed to the doors, tears escaping and trickling down her cheek, she threw her fists against the door, "REMY!" she screamed.  Banging as hard as she could against the door did no good.  She fell to the floor, tears streaming now.  She couldn't believe he'd betrayed her.


	5. Chapter 5: Bella Donna's Wedding

Chapter 5:  Bella Donna's Wedding

             Rogue had cried herself to sleep, and only awoke when she felt a sharp prick in her arm, and she stirred, finding the masked man, known as Marcus, at her side.  She gasped and flinched, so fast that the needle in her arm, to which Marcus was injecting a bright blue liquid into her with, snapped suddenly, and blood spurted out of the other side.

             "Ow!" she squealed.

             "Stupid bitch," Marcus slapped her and yanked the needle from her bare arm and tossed it to the floor.

             Rogue held her face, fresh tears stinging her tired eyes.

             "You got a weddin' to attend," Marcus yanked Rogue up, Rogue felt her legs buckle underneath her, she wasn't sure why though, maybe just the shock that Remy might go ahead with this wedding, or maybe it was the drugs Marcus had injected her with.  She wasn't exactly sure.

             He lead her by the arm, his grip firm, squeezing her arm so hard she decided she probably should have been feeling some pain, but she felt so numb to it right now – numb to everything except the small sting of the needle mark.

             They left the cell, Marcus still leading Rogue up a long dull hallway, the walls unpainted, marked with dirt, the cement cracking slightly revealing the dark brick behind it.  To the end of the hallway was a staircase, and they traversed, appearing in a very small room that was no bigger than a closet.  There seemed to be nothing but wall in front of them, Marcus put his hand against the wall and shoved, and the wall gave way, revealing it was a secret door.  They entered into a lushly decorated hallway, their footsteps echoed on immaculate white and blue marble tiles, and the walls were papered in blue patterned satin.  Rogue felt as if she'd stepped into another time.  

             Marcus pulled her along, Rogue was reluctant, she wasn't sure she wanted to witness the wedding of the man she loved.  There were a thousand other tortures she would have preferred.  Being stuck in a room listening to N-Sync and watching Kitty dance to all the routines would have been a more appropriate torture than this.

             They ended up in a large room off the hall, the walls a deep red, the floor lushly carpeted.  There were two people in the room Rogue didn't recognise, one of them was blonde and looked remarkably like Bella Donna, the other looked as if he were in his mid forties, with dark hair but stunning green eyes.  A priest stood near the windows, a make shift alter of a small wooden chest.  Remy stood near there, wearing a black suit, looking dapper – if not rather surprisingly strange as his black leather trenchcoat was over it - and confident, a little smirk on his handsome face.  His hair, which had grown slightly too long, was pulled into a very stubby ponytail, his bangs still hung out as did the sides of his hair that were too short to slip into the hair tie with the back.  

             Remy's eyes shifted to Rogue, then looked away, as if slightly ashamed of having ditched her for Bella Donna.  Rogue felt like running to him and slapping him, she felt like asking him what the hell he was thinking.  She wanted him to look back to her so she could mouth the words to him angrily, but he did not turn.

             Bella Donna entered, there was no music, Rogue felt there should have been.  Bella Donna looked stunning in a magnolia coloured wedding dress, it was short, but still stunning, beaded down the torso in tiny little flower designs, the skirt flowed out, short at the front, but longer at the back.  She wore a veil over hair that was curled and pinned.  Her lips were the colour of rubies beneath the veil, and curled into a satisfied smile.  Rogue suddenly felt so inferior to beautiful Bella Donna as she herself was standing there in very boyish looking pyjamas.

             Remy glanced to Rogue finally, she looked at him, tears beginning to pierce her eyes, she wanted to mouth the words 'Don't do this' to him, but it wouldn't come, she felt frozen upon the spot.

             Bella Donna finally reached the make shift alter, holding a small bouquet of white roses.  She smiled at Remy, and Remy smiled back.

             No, Remy, No!  Rogue thought at him desperately, she felt like she'd faint from the emotional turmoil of the situation.  Her heart feeling close to breaking.

             "One moment," Remy said to the priest.  "Chere," he looked into Bella Donna's eyes, "I want you to be the last woman I ever kiss for the rest of my life," he said softly, keeping his eyes on hers.  Rogue could have sworn she saw his eyes flashing an intense red for only a split second. 

             Bella Donna nodded, smiling sweetly, she looked as if she were in some private euphoria at that moment.

             "But…I never end a relationship with anyone without one last kiss…" he gestured to Rogue, then glanced back to Bella Donna.

             Rogue felt her heart skip, she didn't understand what he was up to anymore.  

             Bella Donna gave a slight nod, as if she'd never been so sure of anything in her life.

             Remy moved over to Rogue slowly, "Rogue," he gave a nonchalant shrug, "you know I gotta do this, right?" he asked.

             Rogue looked away, and didn't answer.

             Remy put his hand on her sleeved arm, "chere," he whispered, so quietly only she could hear him, "I must…have one last…kiss…" he placed something into her hand, and leaned down, planting a very soft kiss onto her lips.

             The kiss barely lasted a second, and at first, Rogue didn't understand why Remy had flinched back so suddenly, then suddenly a burst of memories exploded in her head, a jumble of French and English words, and visions of herself in Remy's eyes.  She glanced down at her hand and realised that what was in her hand was in fact a card – the queen of hearts.  And it was glowing.  She gasped and tossed the card towards Bella Donna, who ducked out of the way just in time as the card collided with the floor and exploded on impact.

             "My powers!" she gasped.  She realised that almost as suddenly as she'd been abducted from the Mansion, her powers had returned – and Remy's had apparently returned also.

             "C'mon!" Remy grabbed a hold of her sleeved arm and yanked her towards the door.

             They ran, cut off in the hall by five masked assassins.

             Rogue leapt up into the air, Remy's hand letting go of her arm, she kicked one of them in the chest, knocking him back at least seven feet across the hall.  A knife was thrown, missing her by an inch and imbedding itself in the wall.  She grabbed a hold of the knife and sailed towards its owner, grabbing a hold of him by the collar of his long black coat, and raising up.  She felt the weight of him pulling her back down, she realised her powers hadn't fully returned yet, in fact, although her absorbing powers had seemed to have returned, her strength seemed to be ascending back slowly.  She somehow managed to pull the assassin twelve feet into the air and pinning him with the knife to the wall up nearest the second floor.

             Remy flipped over, his feet catching one of the other assassins in the shoulders, knocking him over too, a punch to his left and a kick to his right knocked them off their feet for only seconds.  The Assassin's came back for more, and he just barely dodged being sliced in the face by a very sharp looking knife.

Rogue grabbed a hold of a very large antique vase from a corner and tossed it at one of the assassins, catching him right in the head, he went down like a ton of bricks.   Rogue didn't want to spend any more time fighting, she grabbed a hold of Remy under the arms and raised them both into the air, "close your eyes!" she cried.

             "Chere, what are you gonna do…?!" he demanded, sounding panicked.

             "Trust me!" she yelled at him.

             Remy shut his eyes, turning his head a little to the side.  Rogue flew towards the nearest window at the fastest she could go, the window shattering around them, she headed higher up into the air, trying to locate where the Assassins might have placed the X-Men's jet.

             She spotted it, almost hidden in a small forest area, covered in foliage.  "There's the black bird!" she flew towards it.

             "Chere, they're gonna be lookin' for us…" Remy said, he then gasped as a arrow came flying past, grazing his arm and cutting through both the leather, suit and shirt, and some of the flesh on his arm.  "Shit, we gotta get out of here NOW!" he tilted his head up to look at her.

             Rogue tried flying faster, "I'm trying!" she yelled at him, "my strength isn't fully returned!" she felt herself already beginning to feel Remy's weight pulling her down.

             "Damn it!" Remy dodged another arrow as he hung from Rogue's hands, it barely missed his leg, he looked down, "Keep us up high!" Remy cried at her.

             "I can't!" Rogue gasped, they were coming down lower, and eventually his weight became too much for her to handle, they fell to the soft grassy area with a thud, and rolled across it.  Remy pulled himself to his feet and pulled her up, they began to run, arrows tearing past them, embedding themselves in nearby trees.

             They made it through the forest, scrambling to the blackbird.  "I don't have the key…there's an emergency computer system there that'll open it," she stopped running as they reached the large black jet.  Rogue yelled at the blackbird.  "SR Blackbird Voice recognition, X-Men Team, Member, Designate Marie D'Ancanto, Alias Rogue!!" she cried at the computer.

             "Access Code Required," a computerised voice demanded from the blackbird itself.

             "Fuck, what is the code?!" Rogue put her hands to her head, she'd never had to take the blackbird on her own, she'd forgotten what her personal access codes were.  "Two-five-nine-one!"

             "Access denied."

             "Three-six-two-nine!" Rogue screamed at it.

             "Access denied."

             "Six-nine-four-two!" Rogue screamed, trying to think of the number.

             "Fuck this," Remy muttered, he reached into the pocket of his black trench coat and yanked out a small case, "raise me up to the door…"

             Rogue put her hands under his arms and raised him up, his weight still trying to pull her back down.  She watched as Remy opened the small case, several small silver instruments were within, she soon realised he was going to pick the lock.

             "Can you do this?!" she asked.

             "I've done it before," Remy stated, "got bored while you guys were in class one day."

             Rogue felt an arrow hit her back and bounce off, "At least my invulnerability is back…" she drew her breath.  "Remy, hurry!  They're gaining on us!"

"Nearly there!  I've got a hurt arm!" Remy muttered, his concentration on the tools he was using.

The door swung down as Remy picked the lock on the door masterfully, they flew in, and Rogue pushed the button inside to close the door, she heard several arrows and knives bounce off the metal door as it did.  She rushed towards the controls, "thank fuck I took a recent crash course in piloting this thing," she headed towards the jet.  "Fuck…" she clenched her teeth.

"What now?!" Remy demanded.

"I need the two keys! There's two keys to start this thing."

"For fucks sake, Marie," Remy rolled his eyes, he dropped into a seat at the controls, "Take this," he was still holding the case of lock picking tools, he handed her one of the tools, at the same time, he pulled out a similar one and put it in the lock place on the control panel.  "Push it in," he commanded.

Rogue did as she was told. 

"At the same time as me," he drew a breath, he heard a strange clicking sound and realised the assassins were trying to break back into the jet.  "Okay, move the pick…south, west, south, north, west, east, north, north, south!" he yelled.

There was a hum, and all the lights on the control panel came on, Rogue pulled on a lever and the engines started up, soon, the Jet was speeding along the grass, knocking small trees and bushes out of the way, and it was taking off.

"We made it!" Rogue gasped, she laughed, she put the jet on auto pilot, and wiped her brow tiredly.

The door suddenly swung open, Rogue screamed, the air was trying to suck them both out of the jet, the assassin who'd tried to pick the lock had obviously succeeded, but hadn't managed to get in before the take off.

"Fuck!" Remy tumbled out of the chair and slid towards the open door, "Rogue!" He cried out.

"NO!" Rogue screamed, the air was trying to pull her along with, she grabbed onto everything nearest as made her way towards Remy, she grabbed his arm and held on, "Remy, you need to get the door closed!" she called out to him.

"I Can't!" Remy looked at her panicked, "My arm hurts, I can barely move it!!" he yelled at her, his hair flailing violently about his face.

Rogue couldn't see him for her hair in her face, "You have to try, Remy!!" she wedged her foot against a nearby bar under a chair that was on attached floor, and moved towards the door, still holding on.  Remy's injured arm flailed, he tried to reach the button to close the door but couldn't.

"I can't!"

"Remy!  Hurry!  I can't hold on much longer!" Rogue clenched her teeth.

Rogue's foot uncaught itself from the bar of the chair and they sailed towards the door, just as they did, Remy slammed his fist against the button and the door slammed closed suddenly, they both collided with it hard, Rogue landing on him.

"Ow…" Remy groaned, he cradled his arm, pain searing through it.

Rogue clenched her teeth, "this time we really did make it…"


	6. Chapter 6: Ultimatum

Chapter 6:  Ultimatum

             Rogue opened a small first aid kit from under one of the chairs of the blackbird, she had Remy sitting on one of the chairs, "we have a sling…til you can get back to the mansion," she said, she slipped the plastic sling over his head and gently coaxed his injured arm into it. 

"Ow…careful," he winced.

"Take it like a man," Rogue grimaced as she moved carefully, trying not to hurt him anymore.  She wanted to though, she wanted him to feel a little pain, especially after having let her think he was about to forget her and marry Bella Donna.

"You're mad at me, aren't you," Remy stated after a moment, he sucked a breath in, trying to deal with the pain.  He'd felt worse and tried to remind himself of this.

Remy touched her hair tenderly, making sure not to touch her skin, he smiled a little, feeling glad to be in the company of her – and NOT Bella Donna.

Rogue flinched back quickly, "No," she lied, she closed the first aid kit and put it back under the chair, clipping it in place with a small belt so it didn't slide around the floor.

"You're lying," Remy watched her, "You're mad at me because of yesterday."

Rogue was silent for a moment, then finally she stood up from where she'd been kneeling and walked to the controls of the jet, "did you sleep with her?"

"Huh?" Remy played dumb, he looked at her pretending to be heavily confused.

"Don't be a dick, Remy, just answer the fucking question," Rogue threw herself into her seat and pulled on a seatbelt.

"Why is it so important?" Remy looked at her.

"Because I sat in a fucking little dingy room all night thinking you had dumped me while you were only god knows where doing god knows what with that vicious bitch, that's why!" Rogue yelled at him.

Remy seemed taken aback.  "Chere, I had to."  
             "You had to?!" Rogue snapped, "You had to stick your fucking—"

"I had to!" Remy repeated.  "You don't understand."

"I don't care what you say!  You didn't have to fucking sleep with her!" Rogue turned away from him.

Remy looked at her, "It was mechanical, Rogue, I didn't enjoy it, she did everything—"

"Did I SAY I wanted to hear the fucking details?!" Rogue shrieked at him.  "We could have found some other way to get out of there together, why did you have to go for THAT way."

"Because I needed some way to go ahead with my plan," Remy stated, he sighed deeply, "Look, Bella Donna always sleeps for like two hours after sex, I had to find a way to get her to sleep so that I could change the serum she was injecting us with – so when she was asleep, I used that time to sneak downstairs, and use water and a very tiny drop of blue food colouring to mimic the serum, I changed the serum, and it wore off.  Marcus injected both you and me with nothing more than blue water."

There was a strange silence, then Rogue began again.

"And that's another thing," Rogue turned back to him, her eyes were flickering with extreme anger, "You didn't even fucking TELL me what you had in mind!" she yelled at him, "I had no clue what was going on!!  You're supposed to confide in your team mates as part of the X-Men!" 

"Chere!  I only thought of the plan that minute!" Remy put his hand up in self defence, "when Bella Donna woke us up and told us what was in store for us, it came to me, I couldn't exactly tell you while she was there, I had to act fast to get us out of there…" He frowned.

"I just find it awfully convenient that you manage to find a way to get us out of there AND get yourself laid at the same time!" Rogue folded her arms stubbornly.

"Chere, if I WANTED to get laid, I could have had you last night there and then, when your powers weren't preventing us from touching.  I'm not exactly proud of having to sleep with Bella Donna – yet again – to get what I wanted.  Believe me, she is the fuckin' lousiest lay in the Big Easy, I swear.  She's rough, and clumsy," Remy stated.

Rogue looked away from him again, "I don't want to know!" 

Remy looked at her, "You're jealous?" He asked.

"Of course I'm fucking jealous, look at her!!  She's blonde, blue eyed, tanned and tall, she has a killer body, and she got to fuck you!" Rogue hissed, "she kissed you then and there in front of me, while only the night before I'd been wishin' that you would have kissed me in the way you kissed with her!!" 

"Oh…" Remy looked away sheepishly.

"Jesus, every time I think we're gonna be alright something bad happens, or you do something extremely fucked up that makes me hate you!"  Rogue yanked off her seatbelt, got up and wandered to the back of the jet, the auto pilot still keeping them in the air.

"You don't hate me," Remy stated.

"Alright, I don't hate you," Rogue turned her back on him, "But I'm seriously beginning to wonder whether me and you BELONG together," she hugged herself.

"Of course we do," He stood up and went over to where she stood, "If we weren't meant to be together why do we feel so strong?" He asked, "if we weren't meant to be together why did we escape if we weren't going to be with each other."

"I don't know!" Rogue turned to him, tears trickled from her eyes.  "God, why is it every time you come into my life again everything gets worse than it was!!  You tried to kill me, you lied to me, made me fall in love with you, go off for stretches at a time, and then to top it off, you SLEEP with the girl you swear you don't love!" Rogue wanted to slap him so bad for having done this, but her bare hands wouldn't allow her this luxury.

"Chere…" Remy reached for her.

"Fuck off!" Rogue pulled away.

Remy stood, he looked down at the floor for a moment, another awkward silence filled the jet.  He tried to explain himself finally.

"Chere, I know I've fucked up, again, and again…but I did what I did because I was scared…I really did believe she would have killed you, I know her, she's not one for mercy."

"Excuses!! Nothing but excuses!" Rogue screamed at him.

"You're the only one I love!  Why can't you believe that?!" he demanded, "God, I can't be perfect!!  I'm trying!! I really am!!! I Can't change over night, and YES, I might make some really fucking STUPID decisions, but over all I'm genuine about how I feel for you!!!" he yelled back at her.

Rogue frowned, "You and me are just never gonna work!" she yelled at him.

"I can't believe you're making such a big fucking deal about this!" He walked away from her, "God, I try to do right by you and get nothing but complaint, nothing ever makes you happy!!" he yelled.

Rogue folded her arms, "You used to!  Until you slept with Bella Donna!!"

"I told you, I HAD to!" Remy yelled at her, "do you wanna see how it was in my mind!?"

"I don't EVER wanna see inside your head again, Remy LeBeau!" Rogue turned away from him again, she wiped the tears from her face, "we are…we are so through."

Remy looked at her, "whatever."

"What do you MEAN whatever?!" she demanded of him, spinning back around to face him.

"I mean that you're saying you don't want anything to do with me now, but in a few weeks – or months – we'll be back where we were, and you won't be able to keep your eyes off me."

Rogue wanted to yell at him, but the absurdity of his comment made her laugh, "Oh my god, you are SO full of yourself!" she muffled her laugh into her hand.

Remy smirked, "Oh come on, you know when I wear tight leather pants you can't keep your eyes off my ass…" 

Rogue wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, "you ARE an ass…" she said, but smiled a little.

Remy looked at her, "Yeah…I know, I always have been," he shrugged, "But…you either take me the way I am, or…you don't," he looked at her.

"Remy…I really do not think this is gonna work out," Rogue sighed, she sat down on the nearest seat.

"Chere…please…we've come this far, we can BEAT this thing…" Remy sighed, "I feel like we've had this argument a thousand times…I know its considerably less…but, we've become this 'will they – won't they' couple who never get to be together for real…and…I don't wanna be like that…"

Rogue stared into space.  "The thing is, you slept with someone this time, which I think is technically cheatin' on me if you think we're 'a couple'," she said, "but…I'm always going to be wondering if it'll happen again, would you sleep with some other girl in what you call self defence or for some stupid plan, or just for fun…because you can't sleep with me."

Remy looked at her, his hand was in his pocket.

"Remy…lets just…forget about…us…"

"Chere, no…" Remy looked firm and angry, "We've come too far to go back on it all."

"Remy, we can do FINE as friends, and if things as friends go well, maybe in a year or two, when we've grown up a bit…then maybe then we can think about bein' together?"

Remy looked away, "I would have died for you back there…and now you're makin' me feel like my death would have been for nothin' if I had," He cradled his hurt arm again.  "If you want nothing from me but friendship then that's all I'll offer," he looked at her, "But lemme just say now I'm not gonna wait a year or two…so if you don't take me now…you don't take me at all…" he frowned.

Rogue looked at him.  The ultimatum made her feel cold all over, it was a hard decision to make, "You want me to decide at this very minute?!" she demanded.

"Yes.  So make the decision, take me now, we be together and somehow make it work, you don't take me, and we go to being friends and you never get another chance with me, ever…" he looked at her, "because I'm not the kind of guy who's going to be dumped and following you around like a puppy dog waiting for the next little ounce of affection you might feel like applyin' in boredom."

"It wouldn't be like that," Rogue commented.

"Then make the decision," Remy frowned.

Rogue sighed, "Remy…we can't be together right now."  
             "Then we can't be together at all," Remy took something out of his pocket and handed it to her, "Here…" he said.

Rogue looked down at 80ml bottle full of a bluish liquid, "what's this."

"That's the serum…y'know, to take away your powers," he shrugged, "don't tell Xavier I gave you that," he dropped himself into the pilots seat.  "Enjoy."

Rogue felt a horrible sensation in herself as if her heart had just dropped into her stomach, and she looked at the bottle, and one final tear left her eye.  Remy's final word seemed to echo in her head.  "Enjoy."

The end…or is it???


End file.
